Welcome back indeed. Yoenis Cespedes hit a line drive three run home run in the bottom of the ninth and the Oakland A's completed an improbable sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 4-1 victory Wednesday afternoon. The home run capped a rally the A's offense started off of Dodgers reliever Josh Lindblom, who took the loss.For eight innings, it was a fantastic pitchers duel between Travis Blackley and the Dodgers' ace Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw's eight innings of one run ball was to be expected. He is arguably the best pitcher in baseball.But Blackley's performance was a revelation. Like ...
It's been a year of ups and downs for Oakland pitching prospects this year. Some players have had extremely disappointing years so far, while others have used that to their advantage and have risen in Oakland's system.One positive to the current, overall lackluster performances that seem to be plaguing the A's system is that there's still plenty of time for players to turn things around. Adjustments can be made, and players may be promoted or demoted—all in an effort to help teach these young players how to reach their full potential. Regardless of how unremarkable the numbers may be, the ...
Great pitching and timely hitting has always been a formula for the Oakland A's success. It was clearly on display Wednesday night as Tom Milone pitched a complete game, three-hit gem to help the A's defeat the Dodgers, 4-1.Seth Smith's RBI double tied the game in the fourth inning, and after Josh Reddick's double play scored Eric Sogard with the go-ahead run, Yoenis Cespedes singled to make it 3-1 in the fifth. Brandon Moss smashed an off-speed pitch to right-center field for his seventh home run, and the A's took the second straight game from the team with the best record ...
Josh Reddick has been the Oakland Athletics' best hitter this season. He went into Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers hitting .265 with an .855 OPS, and he's already set new career-highs with 15 home runs and 33 RBI.Reddick, however, did not have a good day at the plate on Tuesday. In fact, he did something he had only done once before in his career: don the Golden Sombrero.Yup. It was a four-strikeout night for Reddick, his first of the 2012 season. The last time he did it was back in August of 2009 when he was still ...
Is it that time of year already? Bay Area baseball fans have grown to treat the trade deadline as a sort of annual science fair, waiting to see what Beane's latest 'win-on-the-cheap' experiment is conjuring.Although Beane and the A's haven't earned a playoff berth since 2006, recent successful deals for Josh Reddick and Jarrod Parker have regained some fan support for the front office and they are optimistic about what is to come at this year's July 31 deadline.Beane has a handful of players with value to barter with this season, but who is most likely on their way out ...
The A's used a couple of timely hits in the first inning en route to a 3-0 shutout victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Brandon McCarthy pitched seven shutout innings in his first start since June 7th to win his sixth straight decision. Ryan Cook pitched the ninth, inducing a game-ending double play from Dodgers first baseman James Loney to notch his fourth save.In spite of the fact that the A's walked a season-high 10 times, they would not score for the final seven innings of the game, going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. But it did not matter because ...
Oakland A’s first baseman Brandon Moss has come out of nowhere to slug six home runs in 11 games since June 6th. Only Minnesota’s Trevor Plouffe, with seven, has more home runs over that span. Should you buy into this power surge and add him to your fantasy lineup? In those 11 games, Moss is hitting .278 with ten runs and eleven RBI. On top of the six home runs, Brandon has hit three doubles, as nine of his ten hits have gone for extra bases, giving him a bloated 1.211 OPS. Moss is hitting just .200 against left-handed pitching, ...
Brandon Moss, though far from a "prospect," has been a welcome surprise to the Oakland A's offense in the past two weeks.The 28-year-old has hit six home runs and 11 RBI in just 11 games with the club, most of those starts.What follows are five more A's prospects who could be called up from the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats at some point this season to give the A's lineup a boost.Begin Slideshow
When it comes to Oakland A's owner Lew Wolff and spending money on his organization, he's essentially the polar opposite of what George Steinbrenner was. According to USAToday.com, the Oakland A's currently have the second-lowest payroll in the MLB at about $55 million for the 2012 season. The New York Yankees are nearly quadrupling that total with $197 million spent on this season alone.This is exactly why it becomes so vital for the Oakland A's to cultivate homegrown talent within their organization.Right now, Oakland has five standout prospects that may be able to make an impact as soon as they ...
Yoenis Cespedes hasn't even completed his first season in Major League Baseball—heck, he hasn't even been healthy enough to play the last few weeks—but he's already the face of the Oakland Athletics organization. What does it take to be the face of the franchise? The first and largest attribute is talent. Longevity helps, but in many cases youth still rules. Take Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals for example. Ryan Zimmerman is an incredible athlete and has been with the team longer. Still, Strasburg is more widely recognized. The same can be said for Troy Tulowitzki over Todd Helton in Colorado ...